3 capital cities defy market softening for the quarter

The national median declined to $733,438 for the quarter, which was due to falls experienced in most capital cities, but three bucked the downward trend: prices were up in Hobart and Adelaide, while in Perth they remained stable, according to REIA president Adrian Kelly.

Meanwhile, other dwellings also saw the weighted average median price decline to $570,905 for the quarter, due to price declines in all capital cities except for Adelaide and Perth.

Melbourne saw the largest decline in house prices for the quarter by 3.7 per cent down to $796,000, and Perth, saw the largest decline in other dwellings by 5.1 per cent down to $375,000.

Investors looking for affordable property may want to look to Adelaide, which had the lowest median house price for the quarter at $475,000 and Darwin, which had the lowest median other dwelling price at $350,000.

“Interestingly, in NSW median prices for both houses and other dwellings prices have declined in both regional and urban areas,” Mr Kelly said.

“In Victoria, however, they have declined only in Melbourne, with the regional areas of Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat still recording strong price growth.”

Rents

The quarterly rental market saw increases in the median rent for three-bedroom houses for all capital cities, with the exception of Sydney, Melbourne and Hobart where they held steady.

“The median rent for two-bedroom other dwellings increased in Canberra and Hobart, remained steady in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth and decreased in Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin. Hobart had the largest increase, while Sydney had the largest decrease,” Mr Kelly said.

“The weighted average vacancy rate for the eight capital cities remained steady at 2.6 per cent during the December quarter, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points for the year. The markets of all capital cities except Darwin have vacancy rates at or below the 3.0 per cent benchmark, indicating a strong demand for rental accommodation.

He added: “Darwin had the highest vacancy rate of 8.2 per cent which is 1.9 percentage points higher than the same time as last year, an indication of low demand.”